We intended to stay the next two nights at Joshua Tree Monument but when we got to the visitors' center all the campgrounds were full.
We had an unpleasant drive to downtown Anaheim and spent one bad night in an RV park that had seen better days (but not recently). Then we got lucky and found Canyon RV Park just off Santa Ana Canyon Road. We had to grovel a bit to get to pay the $45/night and stay since they cater mostly to big rigs.
There’s a wildlife preserve right next to the park (directly across from our campsite) and, after we put in our earplugs we enjoyed watching the birds (a couple pair of wood duck, lots of blue birds, egrets, one variety of woodpecker that looks startled all the time (like somebody just goosed him), even a huge swarm of bees on a bridge girder about 60’ in the air. Coyotes tuned up with the sirens about a dozen time a night…there were even warning signs about cougar in the area. The wildlife and getting to see Kid made it worthwhile to stay there.
When the tournament ended we broke camp, loaded up a case of $29/half gallon ($65 in Juneau) Crown Royal at Costco, and ran for the hills like scalded cats. That night we spent at Basalt Creek Campground, right across CA 152 from the San Luis Res.
Basalt Creek (no photos ‘cause we were dumb and didn’t take any, again) doesn’t have hookups but the restrooms were super sanitary (maybe brand new) with decorator tile to the ceiling and great pay showers ($1 was plenty for a long shower). The campground is a good one…big trees, good spots for hiking (short or long) in rolling grassy hills and reservoirs for fishing. We saw a small heard of deer near the campground entrance. Susan spotted a “yellow billed” magpie that she’d wanted to see for years.
Basalt Creek will be our campground of choice in the area in the future. Watch out for the little acorns on the trees though…I thought we were under attack in the middle of the night when they started bouncing off the roof in a light breeze.
From Basalt we ran back to Pass Creek in Oregon, where we had stayed on the way down. It was still windy and wet but convenient.
After we got camp set we met a very nice man from Tacoma with a FWC Ranger Fleet (shell?) on a white Taco. He was a road biker and carried his bicycle inside the camper. He had the same propane alarm we did and was having the same low-battery warning problem. He had installed his own propane tank and was curious about how ours was mounted. He’d spent a couple weeks in N. Cal and wasn’t impressed with the warmth of the climate that time of year but said he did get a chance to do some bicycling a few times. Next year he’s headed someplace warmer where he can get more biking in.
He invited us to spend the night parked at his home but we’d made plans to drive over Snoqualmie Pass to Gram’s farm in Ellensburg that night, so, reluctantly turned down his kind offer. We stopped to see Darling Daughter on the way and had lunch in the camper then toured Pt. Defiance Park…nice spot…before heading over the pass.
We left Ellensburg a few days early in case we hit bad weather on the way up to Prince Rupert, B.C., but it was a smooth run all the way. The provincial parks were all closed and we didn’t feel like staying in the RV parks we saw.
The first night we stayed at our favorite motel, the Caribou Lodge in Clinton B.C. (if you stop there, go into the restaurant and read about “The Great Cataline” and check the old photos of the area and homesteaders) and the second night at a little motel near Topley.
We hit PR the next day and were pleased to see that the RV park near the ferry terminal was open. It had been listed as closed until April. They even offered to turn on the hot water to the showers if we stayed the full three nights until the ferry got there, so we took them up on it. With all the extra time we had a good chance to explore PR. The library has a good Wi-Fi system.
Since December 3rd, when it was mounted on the Dodge in Woodland, we were in the camper for around 70 nights. We had put around 10,000 miles on the truck/camper since we left Ellensburg on January 28.
There was about 2’ of snow on the lawn when we got home, April 1.
Happy Trails!
Alaskan Snowbirds
